Brian's parents traveled to Seward with us, It's almost comical because I can't even count the number of times they have come to visit and Brian's schedule has changed and they miss him completely. This particular trip was even more of a clusterf##% as they had planned for a relaxing 5 day trip on the Alaska Marine Hwy with Brian as he traveled with our car and dog from Seattle to the Kenai peninsula. The emergency repairs to the ship trumped the shipment of our car. If it wasn't for Chick and Pat, our dog and car would still be in Seattle. I do love that they will roll into our driveway with huge smiles on their faces after caring for and cleaning up after our dog during a 5 day ferry ride followed by a 4 hour drive in my car that smelled 50% dog kennel and 50% vomit.
Needless to say we were all happy to visit Seward and Brian. We planned for a day trip into Prince William Sound to see the Kenai National Fjords and all the wildlife and calving glaciers it has to offer. Unfortunately, the rain set in a day after we arrived turning the visibility to nil. We canceled on the boat trip (I must try again next summer) and forged on with our plans for the Sea Life Center and a quick hike to Exit Glacier. I have no photos of the Sea Life center, a relatively cool aquarium, because I was chasing James the entire time.
I did manage to get a few photos of Exit Glacier with my phone or point and shoot camera. Although is was mid-September and I had been in Alaska for one month, I still had not unzipped my new camera. It was rainy and I was still too scared.
This glacier is extremely accessible because it's only 1/2 mile from a parking spot. This made a very doable, round trip hike for the kids.
There is a chalkboard at the trailhead for hikers to note wildlife seen along the trail. There was a black bear spotted the day before, so we were all on alert.
The edge of the glacier is marked every year and it is amazing to see how much the glacier retreats each year as it continues to melt.
As we hiked back from the glacier the views seemed to be even more spectacular.
As it was still raining nonstop on day three, we went for a diner breakfast and quick drive. The diner was in an old train car (Seward is the start of a rail line into Alaska's interior). Oddly enough, the Train Wreck favored New Orleans jazz and zydeco music for breakfast. I enjoyed it.
We let James take a few photos.
Bacon
After breakfast the sky seemed to clear up a bit, so we walked through the harbor.
By the time I was ready to pull out of town, I could see blue sky and the mountains head straight up from the road. They were there all weekend, we just couldn't see them.
Of course, we never tire of watching silly otters feasting on clams.
I was happy for the break in the weather so I could drive home. This is where I had the ephinany to start blogging. The blue sky was a quick phenomenon as the rains started up again that night. A week later, the only road to Seward was closed due to flooding and the bridge pictured below collapsed.
The entire Kenai peninsula was declared a state of emergency. We took on water in our basement, very annoying since we still had many unpacked boxes sitting down there, but Homer was much better off than Seward. Again, I am trying to keep it in perspective. I know excessive rain beats a tsunami or earthquake. I have all my brochures on how to prepare for both disasters, but I still haven't stock piled batteries, water, etc for what is potentially a not so unlikely event here. Who knew the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire extended all the way to Alaska?
At the diner we all passed around paper and wrote a poem together about Seward:
In a train between the mountains and the sea, we see snow. It looks like marshmallows.
It is fall and yellow and red and orange mixes with all the green!
But the clouds fall slowly down the mountain, covering everything in white.
We see snow and smell rain.
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